One night at Frankfurt

If you use the S-Bahn (station under the building across from Terminal 1), the trip takes 11 min, but you have to make sure you get off at the underground station under the Hauptbahnhof, called Hauptbahnhof "tief". Or you can go on to Hauptwache, which is a little more in town. If you take a regional train (same station) into town, you'll come into the Hauptbahnhof at ground level, but the train stops there and you'll either have to go further on foot or go down to the underground station and take the S-Bahn from there. Either way, the trip from FRA to anywhere in downtown Frankfurt will be €3,70,

Thank you for the tip. Is there a decent hotel that you recommend once I get downtown

Thanks

If it were I, I would go the other way, to Mainz, and stay at the Hotel Königshof, right across the station square from the main train station. I've stayed there before. I think it is a good value for the money.

Stay at the Hotel Monopol or Hotel Excelsior. They are right outside of the south exit of the Main train station. Rooms should run about 60 euro or so, you get free mini-bar, breakfast, free wi-fi and they always have coffee, tea, cake and fruit in the lobby.

Frankfurt is gorgeous at night. The Alte Oper is lit up beautifully. If you get there early enough, consider going to the observation deck on the Main Tower. This will take your breath away. From up here you can also see all the many huge parks in Frankfurt along with our city forest, and it is cool to see the planes lined up in the sky getting ready to land at the airport. The river is beautiful from up there too.

Many of the historic buildings and bridges are lit very nicely, so if you are a photographer you will be pleased. Wait until you see the cathedral!

For some fun nightlife, go over to the applewine pub district - Sachsenhausen. Great food, cheap prices. Even just walking along the river is nice.

Thanks for the tip, this is great info.

In Mainz is the Gutenburg Museum -- seeing the bible might get you in heaven i dont know btw it is 2 books

The OP only has an evening. Most museums shut down at 5 or 6 except certain evenings where they are open until 8 and have after work tours, etc.

Frankfurt has a whole riverbank full of museums, as well as more of them scattered throughout the city. If someone wanted to go to museums, this would be the place to come to. The Botticelli exhibit at the Staedel is getting rave reviews as it is the first time an exhibit of this size of his has been presented in Germany. The Schirn and the Museum of Modern Art also have world class exhibits in them consistently. The 2 Jewish museums are well worth your time too, if you happen to be in Frankfurt for more than an evening.

Usually I don't disagree with Jo but on the hotel issue I'd recommend two other ones in the budget league: Either the IBIS hotel Frankfurt Center (Friedensbrücke or peace bridge) for which you'd have to leave the train from the airport at Hauptbahnhof and walk for about half a mile down to the river front. Plenty of restaurants, bars around the hotel and walking distance to the old town (along the river front). OR the Best Western Hotel Scala on Schäfergasse (shepherds' alley) for which you'd exit the S-Bahn from the airpot at Konstablerwache (constables' guard house), walk up the street between the McDonald's and the Conrad's (you'll find the Best Western to your left, right at the next intersection; also about a half mile's walk).Find best rates for hotels in Germany on hrs.com, ehotel.de, hotel.de and travel-iq.com (best iPhone app for hotels in Europe IMO).

Oh, I forgot about the Ibis. It is quite nice along the river. Wonderful view if you can get the river side. Don't think it offers free breakfast though, and I don't know about the free wifi there.

There are a lot of things going on in many of the churches on Sunday, Christmas carol singing and so on. If that interests you, I can post the times and where.

I asked nearly the same question last summer when we had a 1 night layover in Frankfurt. We were planning to stay near the airport; but Jo steered us towards the two downtown hotels noted above.

We were very glad we spent the time to venture into the City; and loved our one night in Frankfurt. It was a wonderful city, even with only one night.

We stayed at the Hotel Excelsior which is directly across the street from the train station. While it was not our most glamorous stop, we really appreciated the hotel's short distance from the train station. When you have only one night in town it can very stressful to venture too far from your transporation hub. The easy access to and from the train station allowed us more time to see the sights.

I agree overall with Jo's post: with only 1 night you need to limit your to-and-from time with a convenient hotel. I'll also second Jeff's comments above.

I've stayed in the Hotel Monopol -- the other one Jo recommended; Jeff stayed in the Excelsior.

And... Lee's advice on the trains above is spot on -- exactly how I do it.

Very good value and very convenient. When I had to travel to Germany on business, I had to arrive late in the evening. I made sure I had Euro coins with me, bought the ticket for the short train ride below the airport at a vending machine, and was at the Hotel Monopol within 1 hour of landing (I don't check bags).

That gave me time to stroll around, soak up the city, get dinner and unwind.